205-Chapter 14-1 Secret Story

'Yes!　Let's eat!　Let's drink!

Bake, bake, bake, bake!

Jin and Garratt were placing the wyvern's meat on the net while shouting loudly. Not to be outdone, Rion and the other members of the Tamer's Guild also began to place the meat on it.

''Those guys don't know how to be reserved........''

'Well, I suppose that's what they decided to do under the circumstances to allow it.

As I muttered to myself as I looked at the guys eating as if they were competing for the burnt meat, Aguri, who was eating at a distance, came over with dismay... but that Aguri had also firmly secured a large portion of burnt wyvern meat on his plate.

The reason why the barbecue competition was taking place was that when I arrived in Seigen, I thought I'd first say hello to my acquaintances, so I headed over to Karina-san's place first to have a little chat, and that's when Jin and the rest of the 'Sword of Dawn' arrived. When I was suspicious that the timing was too good to be true, they heard that we were on our way to the guild and came to look for us. At any rate, they had something they wanted to discuss with us.

We decided to go somewhere else to talk, so we went to the guild to rent a private room, where the members of the Tamer's Guild were hanging out. The topic of defeating the wyvern came up, and if there is a large amount of meat to be had, they demanded to be fed it.

"The meat at the Wyvern is a high-class product, though...

Oh, I appreciate it.

Yes, and I'm grateful for it.

Following Aguri, it was Menace and Leena who responded to my mutterings with words. Both of them are building a pile of roasted meat on their plates, just like Aguri.

''Well, he said it's true that he's grateful, and it's not like he's returning the favor, but I'll give you an update on the dungeon, give me a break.

It's an update that the guild doesn't know about.

''Come to think of it, you've reached the lowest level. But can you take the liberty of giving out information that you didn't even let the guild know?

'Information obtained by an adventurer alone is the property of that adventurer. If the information is urgent, it might be a problem, but if the guild doesn't know about the dungeon, it won't be much of a problem.

'If the guild wants to sell it, but as long as they don't say anything, there's no need for us to pay attention to it.

If they sold it, it would fetch quite a bit of money, but that might cause other adventurers to conquer the dungeon before The Sword of Dawn. However, the adventurers who are diving after The Sword of Dawn are already retired, and they are old enough to be said to be on the verge of retirement after that, so they don't seem to be too worried about it...

I'm pretty deep in the water myself, but is that what you want?

I'm currently at the sixty level, so depending on the information, I may catch up with Jin and the others at once. Incidentally, it seems that the place where Jin and the others are located is on the ninety-eightth level, and even though they're near the bottom of the guild, they talked about how fast they were attacking the place.

''Well, I won't lie to you there, but I'm not going to tell you everything, so it's okay. Besides, even if you catch up with us, you're not so bad in character that you'd run off at the side of us who are struggling... right?

Isn't it... right?

How much was the market price for Wyvern meat?

As soon as I said that, they were on a roll! So it means that I'm not actually sorry for it. Well, I'm joking around too, so I'm a sycophant.

''Well, so much for joking around I certainly don't intend to do that, but I don't think you can complain if you do.

It's all right, I'm looking out for them!

If you can't trust people, that could be fatal to you.

That's why I decided to receive information without reservation. Well, basically what kind of demons were on which floor, what kind of minerals were there and what kind of atmosphere was there, and I didn't ask about the path to the lower floors, so it would be a funny story if I caught up with this.

''So, here's the thing... but before we get to that, djinn!　Garratt!　Come on, come on!　You forget what we were looking for Temma for!　

Jinn and Garratt, pissed off at Menace, interrupted their gluttonous eating contest with Amur to come over to us.

'Sorry the wyvern was so good I just got carried away.

Jin and Garratt apologized to Menace and Leena before turning to me.

''Actually the reason we were looking for Temma is because there was something we wanted to discuss with you.

Jin says that with a serious face, but

'Yeah, I know ... didn't Jin first tell you that when we were in front of the apartment?'

...that's right.

The Garrats were trying hard not to laugh at Jin's joke, but they changed their minds as soon as I called Grandpa.

So what do you want to talk to us about?

By "consult," I mean the boss at the bottom of the pyramid.　

According to Jin's story, the demon that seemed to be the boss at the lowest level was Hydra, and despite trying several times, they couldn't find a way through, and were repeatedly withdrawing early. Moreover, the troublesome thing is that because the recovery power of the hydra is too high, the hydra is fully recovered before the djinn's damage is removed.

It's a long time ago. And how many heads does that hydra have?

Nine, sir.

Grandpa was surprised at the answer of nine heads. This is because the best hydra he had ever defeated in the past was an eight-necked hydra, and it is said to be the best known of all the individuals he had defeated.

The best Hydra I've ever killed in the past was said to be the best with eight heads.

'So I was wondering if I could get some insight from Lady Merlin, who has defeated eight heads, and Temma, who has a reputation for insane fighting skills.

I protested because there was something in Jin's story that I didn't agree with, but not only Jin and his friends, but even my grandfather looked at me in wonder.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who can do this," he said, "but it's also a good thing that you have good luck. The magic hit all the right spots and the magic tools worked better than I expected.

The grimoire that you say you used at the time was...

It's almost unheard of now. And that magic tool was like a version of the explosive knife that Tenma fought at a tournament, I don't remember what it was called, but it was even more powerful than the one he used. Even that was a very rare tool, but anything more powerful than that was even more rare than a knife. Moreover, the one I used was a modified version, which is now forbidden.

At Grandpa's words, the djinn were disappointed and slumped their shoulders. The 'exploding knife' that Grandpa mentioned was probably the one that Keos used and blew his own arm off. That is quite a useful tool depending on the situation and how you use it, but with that level of power, even if you hit ten or twenty of them, it would be hard to say that it would be effective against a nine-necked hydra.

In my grandfather's story, I remembered that 'it's forbidden now', so I asked him about it, and the reason is twofold: since it's so powerful for its size, there's a high risk that it will be used to assassinate important people, and if you force it to be made more powerful by modifying it, even a small shock could cause it to explode suddenly. He said that's because there is a reason. In my grandfather's case, he was lucky, and he was safe because he kept most of his stuff in the magic bag, so he couldn't stop sweating when he found out.

On the other hand, if you leave it in the magic bag, the risk of it exploding is very low.

But that doesn't mean you have to make it!

I whispered my thoughts and Grandpa nailed me with a strong tone of voice.

''All right. So, if the magic tools don't work, how about a quantity strategy with the golem?

'We'll charge you a good price for that, but we'll get you the number you need...'... I suggested, but he refused because that wouldn't allow us to say that we'd captured it on our own.

''Well, that's certainly true...''

'I'm grateful for that, but I don't think we'd be able to convince the people around us... or rather, we wouldn't be able to convince ourselves.

At Jin's words, Garratt and the others nodded. Indeed, if they couldn't agree with themselves, there was no point in being adventurers. As he reflected in his mind that he'd said something unnecessary, he thought of other ways to do it.

How resilient are you claiming to be?

It's like a gouge that you've been working really hard on for an hour or so, and then it closes up in an hour or so.

Well, that's certainly a problem.

Even if you worked hard for an hour, if you were blocked in as long as you worked hard, it would certainly be difficult to defeat them. Even with Hydra, there would be an upper limit to his strength and resilience, but having a resilience equal to or greater than the attack power of Djinn and the others was no different than having a pseudo-infinite strength and resilience. However.

'Then why don't we just do continuous damage?　If we can keep damaging the hydra while the djinn and others rest, no amount of nine-headed hydra will kill it.

If you could do that, you wouldn't be in any trouble!

Jin thought I was kidding around, and he yelled at me, snapping at me, but

'Jin, wait a minute!　The fact that Temma came up with such a joke means he might have come up with something!　After all, Temma has a reputation for insanity!

'Yes!　Tenma shouldn't be so devilish as to joke around at a time like this!

'Yes!　That much Temma-san is not rotten!

You guys are the ones who wait a minute!

When I shouted at them as if I couldn't hear them out, the three of them realized their gaffe and began to panic.

''Temma!　I don't care what you think of these guys after they're done, just let me know what you come up with!

Jin grabbed both my shoulders and shook me violently without following the three of us.

'Alright, calm down I've come up with an idea to drive a number of harpoon-like things into Hydra's body. As long as the harpoons I've hammered into it don't come loose, I think it's possible to keep damaging the hydra, right?

For example, even a person can feel continuous pain when a small thorn sticks in his fingertip and digs into his flesh. That's how I thought it would be possible to inflict continuous damage on the hydra if I did it deliberately with a weapon like a harpoon, which is thick and has high killing power.

'Surely, by that logic, it's possible to inflict continuous damage.

Maybe the harpoon will fall out in the process of recovery, but with some ingenuity it could be left inside you, and that's better than doing nothing.

'I'm sure you're right. We're hesitant to attack to begin with. If it doesn't work when you try, then you can think of a different way to do it.

I've tried to fight it a few times before, and I've succeeded in escaping each time. It wouldn't be a bad idea to try my idea of a method once.

'Then I'll need to devise a way to make sure it doesn't come off after it sticks, or that only the tip of the ear remains.

You can use a bow and arrow if it stings, not just a harpoon. That way you can attack from a distance.

He also taught them about the "chokki harpoon," a harpoon used in barefoot fishing and the like. When this harpoon stings, the tip of the harpoon is detached to make a big return. The purpose of this device was to connect the tip of the spearhead to the body of the harpoon with a string so that the stinging fish would not escape, but by loosening the knot between the tip of the harpoon and the body of the harpoon and attaching another long string to the body of the harpoon, it would be easier to retrieve the harpoon after it was thrown. If you attach a spare tip to the body, it will be possible to attack as many times as you like.

''Good!　First we need to get some weapons!

Oh!

''Well, shall we go back too?''

'Yes. It's not every day you get to eat the meat of a wyvern to the hilt.

Menace and Lina also went back to where they came from in search of the wyvern's meat.

''Temma, we have to get back soon or they will devour our meat!

'No, there's still a wyvern...'

That said, there was enough of a dining scene that it seemed impossible to dismiss that possibility, so after finishing the portion we were serving now, we decided that we would serve the orc meat next.

''Speaking of which, I have to have a meeting with the kings as soon as I return to King's Landing.

Yes.

In fact, it wasn't just Jin and the others who had asked for advice. It was Carina and Arie-san, and it was something about Amy. They told me that there would be a party in the near future at the school in King's Landing that would also serve as a classroom visit. The invitation was sent to Karina-san and the others, but if they wanted to attend, they would have to be away for nearly half a month, including travel time, and that would be quite difficult. Besides that, she said she felt uncomfortable going to a place full of nobles, so she was not sure what to do.　

So when I spoke to Chris and the three idiots who are graduates of the academy, they said that Amy's guardian in the royal capital is the Otori family, so it wouldn't be a problem if she attended instead... or rather, she would have to attend.

If it was a normal party, it wouldn't be a problem if they didn't have to attend, but this one was a party for the entire middle school, and apparently the third year students would be the star of the party. Some of the third year students leave the school without moving up to the high school, or fail the high school entrance exam, so it has the aspect of a graduation party. Well, since the students who leave or fail are basically commoner students, the noble students don't have much of a sense of graduation. But instead, some noblemen students think about finding a fiancee at this party.

''In my day, too, there was this aspect of it... although it was too long ago to be of much use to me.

That kind of grandfather, even though he had a reputation for excellence when he was a student, he was not popular at all because he was the third son of a baronial family with little chance of succession, and he had a reputation as a freak from then on. Incidentally, it seems that the most popular person in the same grade was Ernest-sama.

He was considered a freak, too, but he was royalty and had money.

Even if I remembered now, I wasn't sure if I didn't like the fact that Ernest-sama was popular or not, but I was still quite grumpy.

If you're a commoner, you're still a tasty opponent.

If we can drop Aimee, then without a doubt, the Otori family will be able to connect with the three idiots. But even if they get together with us, the relationship with the royal family, or rather with Tida, will not be good, but Tida can't touch Aimee's partner just because she was rejected. There wouldn't be, and if she did that in the first place, she could lose her current position.

'When it comes to this, it might mean that Amy would be saved in many ways if she stuck with Tida...'

If Tenma says that, she'll get in a lot of trouble for saying it, so don't say it anywhere else.

Anyway, I'm sure some of the students will try to force their way to Amy, so I'll have to talk to Maria about that.

I decided to end the conversation, though somewhat forcefully, because I felt that talking about it any longer would damage me.

I have to talk to Aimee's family first. It's a matter of course, and above all, there's no guarantee that anyone will try to turn to Amy's family for help.

Grandpa was right, it wasn't a good idea to ignore Carina and the others and proceed, so I decided to go to the consultation immediately... Before I went to the consultation, the djinn asked for more meat, so I served the oak meat as I had originally planned. ........A storm of boos ensued. Well, when I threatened, "If you complain, I'll charge you for the amount you serve and the amount you eat," I honestly started to roast the orc meat, so I watched the situation and then went to my apartment.

And in the apartment, Karina-san and the others were quite surprised by my story, but I was even more surprised by Karina-san and Arie-san's words, "I heard that Amy was good friends with the royals, but I thought she would marry into Temma-san's family in the end.

For what it's worth, it's not uncommon for a well-earning adventurer to marry more than one woman, and more than anything else, they thought I was more likely than royalty, because of my status.

When I told Aimee that I had never had such thoughts, she replied, "There are a lot of beautiful people close to me, aren't there?"... It was a moment when I could tell a story that everyone should not know.